Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
First Epistle to Timothy

First Epistle to Timothy

9.8
The first letter from Paul to Timothy in the New Testament that gives advice on church leaders
  • proper noun
translation icon : Primera Epístola a Timoteo
  • The First Epistle to Timothy provides guidance for church leadership and the qualities of overseers.

Examples

  • In the First Epistle to Timothy, Paul addresses issues of church governance.

  • Passages from the First Epistle to Timothy are often quoted in discussions about pastoral responsibility.

  • Many scholars debate the authorship of the First Epistle to Timothy and its relevance to modern church practices.

  • The First Epistle to Timothy emphasizes the importance of sound doctrine.

  • Many scholars debate the authorship of the First Epistle to Timothy and its relevance to modern church practices.

  • Passages from the First Epistle to Timothy are often quoted in discussions about pastoral responsibility.

  • The First Epistle to Timothy provides guidance for church leadership and the qualities of overseers.

Synonyms

First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy
vsFirst Epistle to Timothy
9.5

A short New Testament letter that gives advice to a church leader named Timothy about teaching and behavior

presents it simply as the first letter offering advice on church leadership
I Timothy
vsFirst Epistle to Timothy
  • Literature
8.4

A book in the New Testament that gives advice to church leaders

calls it a letter giving advice on church leadership and care

Surface Forms

First Epistle to Timothy main

Morphology

first + epistle + to + Timothy

The phrase simply combines 'first' (ordinal) + 'epistle' (a letter) + 'to Timothy' (recipient), so its meaning as the first letter addressed to Timothy is directly and compositionally derivable from the constituents. This naming pattern for letters is conventional and cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows the constituent words would readily understand it.

Etymology

The First Epistle to Timothy is named that because epistle is an old word for a 'letter' and this is the 'first' of two letters sent 'to Timothy', a young church leader. Because it contains advice about church leaders and how they should behave, the title shows it is a personal letter giving guidance.